Guardian reader profile

Reaching an affluent and young audience

Guardian readers are affluent, young urban consumers with a keen sense of adventure when it comes to trying new products and experiences. They have varied interests and their high disposable incomes give them the means to keep up with their sports, hobbies and travel. Being difficult to reach through other media and newspapers, our readers make the Guardian an extremely valuable title to include on your schedule.

Well-travelled

Guardian readers are twice as likely as the average GB adult to holiday 2-6 times a year. They holiday with a sense of adventure; 44% say they prefer holidays off the beaten track. Spending an average of £1400 on each adventure, they love visiting destinations like the Middle East, Africa, India and Canada. They are also six times more likely than average to travel to South America. The types of holidays they like include city breaks trips to lakes and mountains and backpacking and whilst on holiday their leisure activities include visiting museums and monuments, learning new languages and arts & crafts. 42% of Guardian readers book their holidays online compared with 37% of other quality newspaper readers and 27% of the GB population. They are 30% more likely than the average adult to have travelled by plane in the last 12 months.

Finance-savvy

Guardian readers are generally wealthy with a definite sense of financial nous and an interest in investment ideas. On average they earn £30,500 per year compared to the UK average of £21,000 and are twice as likely as the average UK adult to earn £40,000 or more. Half of all Guardian readers consider themselves very good at managing money whilst 54% feel it is important to be well insured. They are far more likely to have an interest in financial services advertising and twice as likely as the average adult to be interested in reading about personal finance in newspapers. A third own stocks and shares (mostly bought through a private fund manager), and they are around twice as likely as the average adult to have an ISA or PEP. Two thirds own a credit card (on average each reader has two cards) and spend approximately £365 a month on them.

Food & drink aficionados

Guardian readers have expansive and diverse tastes when it comes to food and drink. They are more likely than the average GB adult to enjoy eating foreign food, trying out new food products and testing new recipes. They get a lot of pleasure out of food and are very interested in reading about food & drink in newspapers. Home prepared meals are important with 52% of Guardian readers stating they usually have family meals at the weekend (vs. 43% GB average). They also regularly dine out at restaurants and are far more likely than the average quality press reader to dine out once a week or more. They spend more than the average adult on groceries; an astonishing £87 million in total every week, and their food buying habits tend towards quality, healthy produce. More likely than other quality press readers to buy premium range foods, 72% say they buy free range, 42% avoid genetically modified foods and they are more than twice as likely to buy organic meat, fruit & vegetables and dairy products than the average GB adult. Favourite types of food include Japanese, Greek, Turkish, French and Mexican.

Dedicated followers of fashion

Guardian readers are stylish and like spending a lot of money on clothes. They are more likely to buy clothes for style rather than comfort and agree with the statements 'I spend a lot on clothes' and 'I have a very good sense of style'. In the last year Guardian readers spent a staggering £457m on clothing, footwear and accessories. The average Guardian readers spend £94 on shoes and £84 on handbags every year and are 20% more likely to be very interested in reading about fashion and clothes in newspapers than the average GB adult.

Active lifestyles

Guardian readers are sporty, outdoors types who are 35% more likely than the average GB adult to do some form of sport of exercise once a week or more. They regularly take part in individual sporting activities like cycling, athletics, badminton, jogging and yoga as well as team sports like football, cricket and basketball. They are six times more likely than the average adult to play rugby on a regular basis and more likely than average to pay to watch sports live at a venue. They are consistently extremely interested in reading about sports in newspapers as well as watching sport on TV and listening to sport on the radio. They use the gym regularly and are more likely than other quality newspaper readers to use cardiovascular and weight training machines. Last year Guardian readers spent a total of £26m on sports clothing, spending an average of £64 per person.

Never without an item of technology

Guardian readers are extremely tech-savvy, well aware of new technology and like to keep up with the latest developments. They are more likely than the average adult to own the latest items, such as laptops with blu-ray layers, wireless internet radios and digital music streamers. They are also big gamers, more likely than the average GB adult to own an X-Box and Sony Playstation.

Arts lovers

Guardian readers are mad about the arts. In an average month they are ten times more likely to attend an opera concert, six times more likely to attend classical musical concerts and three times more likely to go to the theatre than the average Brit. They are also far more likely than the readers of other quality newspapers to attend the British Museum, V&A, Tate Modern, National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery. 36% say music is an important part of their lives (vs. 24% of other quality press readers) and they enjoy listening to new bands. Guardian readers bought around 10m books last year; each reader buying an average of 12 books in the past 12 months.

Engaged, influential and well connected

Guardian readers are more engaged with the newspaper than readers of any other quality paper and research demonstrates that this results in a higher degree of advertising engagement therefore driving greater advertising effectiveness. In addition, Guardian readers are more likely than readers of any other quality newspaper to possess characteristics and attributes that are key for spreading word of mouth. They are well connected, information hungry, vocal and voracious media consumers, making them powerful influencers when it comes to passing on and sharing information about products/services and personal experiences.